“Just got off the phone with Louie DeCuba,” Bill Haney wrote. “The ball’s back in your court. May 30th. Deebo is coming.”
The message points to May 30 as the proposed date for a welterweight unification bout between Devin Haney and Rolando Romero. Brooklyn’s Barclays Center has been mentioned as the potential site.
The timing places Romero in a difficult position because the World Boxing Association is expected to order a mandatory defense against unbeaten contender Shakhram Giyasov. Giyasov built his standing through a long amateur career and has continued that success since turning professional, developing a reputation for discipline and consistent pressure in the ring.
Mandatory title defenses rarely bring the same revenue as voluntary fights between champions. A bout with Haney would likely generate a larger gate and stronger financial backing than a defense against Giyasov, whose reputation has grown through results rather than mainstream attention.
Giyasov also represents a real competitive threat. His technical discipline and steady pressure have made him one of the more respected contenders at welterweight, and he has the type of style that can trouble a champion over twelve rounds. If Rolly were to lose that mandatory defense, the title would disappear, and the negotiating power that comes with it would disappear with it, which would make the larger fights currently available far harder to secure.
Romero last headlined in May 2025 against Ryan Garcia in a Riyadh Season event in New York, an appearance that produced one of the largest purses of his career. Holding a championship belt has helped keep him attached to similar opportunities since then.
Haney’s message now places a visible timeline on the negotiations and publicly signals that his side believes the proposal is already on the table. Romero’s team must now decide whether to pursue the unification bout or prepare for the mandatory challenge that may soon arrive.
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